Graphical user interface for content management

ABSTRACT

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) allows a user to control multiple media streams at the same time. A user can display and configure multiple regions of the GUI to display information about, and control broadcast properties of, multiple media streams being broadcast at the same time. Multiple display regions of the same type can be displayed at the same time. The GUI is also highly customizable, allowing a user to configure multiple different display regions, each displaying information and controls useful for performing functions related to the type of display region. The information displayed in each region can be selected from a single media stream, or from different media streams.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to graphical user interfaces,and more particularly to graphical user interfaces used to managebroadcast content.

BACKGROUND

Radio automation software typically uses a graphical user interface(GUI) as a front end, to receive user input and facilitate userinteraction with the software. But currently available GUIs can berelatively complex to operate, and still not provide all of thefunctionality a user might desire.

For example, currently available GUIs used in conjunction with radioautomation software limit control options available to a user—generallydisplaying information for controlling the broadcast content of only asingle station. Additionally, the types of information displayable inone section of a GUI may be limited by information displayed in othersections. For these and other reasons, currently available GUIs are lessthan perfect.

SUMMARY

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for use with broadcast automationsoftware is disclosed herein. The GUI can be used to allow a user tocontrol multiple play streams at the same time. A user can click on, orotherwise activate, an icon, button, hot-click region, or other userselectable object to display multiple display regions. Each of thedisplay regions can be configured to display information from the samemedia play stream, or from different media streams being played,streamed, multicast, or otherwise, broadcast at the same time. In someembodiments, multiple display regions of the same type can be displayedat the same time, allowing a user to view and control multiple playstreams of multiple different broadcast stations at the same time.

Furthermore, a GUI according to various embodiments is also highlycustomizable, allowing a user to configure multiple different displayregions to display information related to media in multiple differentformats, with multiple different associated controls. So, for example, aGUI can display a library region, a Hotkeys region and two station logregions—each displaying information and controls useful for performingfunctions related to the type of display region. The GUI can beconfigured to display information related to the same play stream, ordifferent play streams, in each of the different areas.

In various embodiments, a GUI includes multiple display regionsconfigurable to display information and playback controls associatedwith multiple different media streams being contemporaneously aired. TheGUI can include a first display region to display a first mediaidentifier associated with a first media item included in one of themedia streams, and a user selectable control to affect playback of thefirst media item. In some embodiments, the GUI also includes a seconddisplay region to display, concurrently with the first media identifier,a second media identifier associated with a second media item includedanother one of the media streams, and a user selectable control toaffect playback of the second media item.

In various embodiments, the GUI includes at least two functionallyduplicate display regions, each of the functionally duplicate displayregions displaying duplicate categories of information and includingduplicate user selectable controls. Each of the functionally duplicatedisplay regions can display information from a different media streambeing currently aired.

A GUI can also display various user selectable objects in the firstdisplay region, or in other display regions. For example, a userselectable object operable to select among an automatic mode, a manualmode, and a live assist mode of operation can be displayed. One or moreuser selectable play controls can also be displayed close by the firstmedia identifier. These play controls can be configured to be operablein the live assist mode to control whether individual media items are tobe started automatically.

One or more of the GUI's display regions can be configurable to displaya visual representation of a first audio program included in at leastone of the plurality of media streams, and includes a user selectablecontrol operable to receive user input establishing at least one fadepoint of the first audio program.

In some embodiments, a GUI displays a user selectable object operable toassign each of the plurality of audio playback streams to separate audiooutputs in response to selection by a user. The GUI can also include adisplay area configured to display content stored in an audio library, auser selectable object operable to import audio files of differentformats directly into a media library, and a user selectable objectoperable to export information associated with a media stream to adesignated network address.

A GUI according to various embodiments can also include a hotkey displayregion including a plurality of user selectable objects capable of beingindependently configured to execute different user-assigned actionsrelated to playback of a broadcast media stream, and a user selectableobject operable to fire an event not already programmed into a stationlog.

Various other user selectable objects used to display a plurality ofdifferent regions in response to being selected by a user can also bedisplayed: a log display region including a collection of contentidentifiers associated with a selected station and multiple air-timeindicators, each air time indicator associated with one of the contentidentifiers; a player display region including multiple players, witheach Player displaying metadata pertaining to a media asset and aplurality of play controls associated with the media asset; and a stackdisplay region operable to display at least one media event associatedwith a selected channel.

Various embodiments can be implemented as a computer readable mediumtangibly embodying a program of instructions implementing the variousGUIs disclosed herein. Yet other embodiments can be implemented asmethods for use with broadcast automation software.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of this disclosure will become apparent upon reading thefollowing detailed description and upon reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a graphical user interface (GUI)according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts a Hotkey display region according to various embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a Hotkey Bank configuration region according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a Library display region according toembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a Logs display region according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an On-Air display region according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a Stacks display region according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display region that can be used toset a fade point in a media item according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a high level block diagram of a processing system according toan embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosuredepicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in suchdetail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount ofdetail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations ofembodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

The term media stream, as used herein, generally refers to a collectionof media items that are broadcast, aired, or otherwise delivered to oneor more potential recipients via media delivery channels including, butnot limited to, computer networks such as the Internet, radio,television, cellular, wireless telephone, and satellite. Media itemsincluded in a media stream can include audio and video content such assongs, video clips, movies, advertisements, pre-recorded announcements,station identifiers, or other items to be broadcast or aired via any ofvarious media delivery channels.

The term station, as used herein, is intended to broadly include contentbroadcast on a particular frequency or channel, e.g. conventionaltelevision, AM, FM, cable, and satellite radio or television providers;and content that can be selected by means other than frequency, e.g.,Internet multicasting and streaming radio stations, and other similarmedia distribution channels.

The phrase “user selectable object” is used herein to refer to variousitems that can be displayed on a graphical user interface (GUI) toobtain user input. User selectable objects include, but are not limitedto, buttons, icons, text, pictures, hotspots, menus, fillable fields,hyperlinks and similar objects, regions and areas, that are selectableby using generally available pointing devices such as a mouse,trackball, touch screen, or joystick to position a cursor or otherindicator over, near, under, around, or in their general proximity. Userselectable objects can also be selected by pressing a combination orseries of one or more keys on a keyboard or other input device.Generally, but not always, a user selectable object is highlighted,flashes, disappears, appears, or otherwise signals to a user that theobject is, has, or is about to be, selected.

Selection of a user selectable object sometimes includes a two-stepprocess, where the user selectable object is preselected, for example byusing a mouse to position a cursor over an object and then pressing amouse button, or by pressing a combination or sequence of keys on akeyboard and then pressing the Enter key. In cases where a two stepprocess is used, a single term “selecting” is commonly used to refer tothe complete process of preselecting an object, e.g. by positioning acursor over the object, and then activating the object to initiate atask, e.g. by clicking on the object. The term “selecting,” and itsvariants, is generally intended to include both a single step andmulti-step processes. Those skilled in the art are familiar with thegeneral terminology, and with initiating actions based on selecting auser selectable object.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a graphical user interface (GUI) 100 isillustrated, and discussed according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. GUI 100 includes multiple display regions, includingRibbon Navigation region 170, On-Air region 110, Logs region 120,Library region 130, Player region 160, Stacks region 150, and Hotkeysregion 140. In some embodiments, each of the various regions displayedis configurable to allow a user to customize GUI 100 to better meet theuser's individual needs.

In some embodiments, in addition to the display regions beingindividually configurable, GUI 100 provides a user the ability toconfigure which of the display regions are displayed in the first place.Thus, GUI 100 can be configured to display, for example, multipleinstances of On-Air region 110 and Play Container region 160, but not todisplay Stacks region 150. Or, GUI 100 could be configured to displaymultiple instances of Library region 130, but not include any instanceof On-Air region 110 or Logs region 120.

In some embodiments, users can configure GUI 100 using user selectableobjects displayed in Ribbon Navigation region 170. As illustrated,Ribbon Navigation region 170 has the Tools area open, which causesRibbon Navigation region 170 to include such tools as: System icon 101,Stations icon 102, Computers icon 103, Hotkeys icon 104, Players icon103, Play Container icon 105, Accounts icon 106, Media Import icon 107,Edits icon 108, History icon 109, and Scheduled Maintenance icon 111.The icons displayed in Ribbon Navigation region 170 can be grouped intovarious categories, and displayed based on that grouping. For example,Hotkeys icon 104, Players icon 103, and Play Container icon 105 can bedisplayed as members of a Configuration group, and System icon 101,Stations icon 102, and Computers icon 103 can be displayed as part of aGlobal group.

The groupings can themselves be grouped into tabs or other arrangementsfor display. For example, the groupings to which System icon 101,Stations icon 102, Computers icon 103, Hotkeys icon 104, Players icon103, Play Container icon 105, Accounts icon 106, Media Import icon 107,Edits icon 108, History icon 109, and Scheduled Maintenance icon 111belong are displayed as sub-groups of a larger grouping displayed underthe Tools tab. It should be appreciated that different user selectableobjects can be displayed when other tabs are selected. For example, ifthe Modules tab is selected, user selectable objects belonging to agroup called Modules can be displayed (not illustrated). It should alsobe noted that access to, and in some cases visibility of icons and wholetabs is controlled by a user rights system.

In some embodiments, the configurability of GUI 100 extends beyondsimply allowing a user to configure which regions to display, and theability to customize how information is presented within the individualregions. GUI 100 also permits users to choose the source of theinformation displayed in a particular region, and to allow informationfrom different sources to be displayed at the same time. So, forexample, On-Air region 110 can be configured to display informationrelated to a particular broadcast channel, media stream, or the like, atthe same time Logs region 120 is displaying information related to adifferent broadcast channel or media stream.

In some embodiments, On-Air region 110, Logs region 120, Library region130, Hotkeys region 140, Player region 160, and Stacks region 150 caneach be configured to display information related to different mediastreams being currently broadcast. Thus, On-Air region 110 can displayinformation about the next three songs to be broadcast on one Internetradio station, while Logs regions 120 displays a station log for adifferent Internet station. At the same time, Library region 130 can beused to display the songs, advertisements, and other media content of athird Internet radio station, while Hotkeys region 140 displays hotkeyswhich, when selected, will initiate the broadcast of a media item on yeta fourth Internet radio station. Player region 160 can be used todisplay media identifiers and play controls for media currently airingor about to air on an AM radio station, while Stacks region 150 displaysa song on an FM radio station.

In at least one embodiment, GUI 100 is configurable to display duplicateregion types. That is to say, a user can configure GUI 100 to displaytwo or more regions of the same type. However, the duplicate regiontypes do not necessarily have to display the same content. Consider acase where a user configures GUI 100 to display two instances of On-Airregion 110. The first instance of On-Air region 110 can be used todisplay information associated with a first media stream, and the secondinstance of ON-Air region 110 can be used to display information about asecond, different media stream.

Providing users the ability to configure which display regions arepresented on GUI 100 at any one time, and further providing the abilityto display information for multiple different media stations currentlybroadcasting different media streams, permits a single user the abilityto control multiple different broadcasting stations concurrently.

Referring next to FIG. 2, a Hotkeys region 200 will be discussedaccording to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Hotkeysregion 200 includes a region identifier 255, which displays the name ofHotkeys region 200. Hotkeys region 200 also includes multiple hotkeys230, 240, 250, 260, and 270, which can be configured to displayinformation indicating their purpose or function. For example, hotkey230 is configured to play a jingle when selected, and includes thelength of 224 of the jingle, an author 231 of the jingle, a title 232 ofthe jingle, and a progress indicator 234. In some embodiments, hotkeys270 display blank information fields, because they are unassigned.

Hotkeys 230, 240, 250, 260, and 270 can be used to insert a media iteminto a media stream currently being broadcast, or perform some otherdesired action. In some embodiments, selection of a hotkey will causewhatever media content is currently being aired to be stopped, at leasttemporarily, and cause a media item associated with the selected hotkeyto be broadcast. In some such embodiments, when the media itemassociated with the selected hotkey is done being played, the media itemcan then be restarted, or the next media item to be played can bestarted in its stead. In other embodiments, selecting a particularhotkey can cause a media item associated with that hotkey to be overlaidonto a currently broadcast item, so that the media item currently beingaired is not stopped, but continues to be aired while the media itemassociated with the hotkey is also aired at the same time the regularlyscheduled media item is being broadcast. In at least one embodiment auser can, at any time, select one of the displayed hotkeys displayed andthe media item associated with that hotkey will be broadcast, withouthaving to insert that media item into the station log for scheduling.

Hotkeys region 200 also includes a Bank selector 210, which can beimplemented as a dropdown menu to select a bank hotkeys displayed, and aStation selector 220, which can be implemented as a dropdown menu usedto select a station with which Hotkeys region 200 is associated. Anyparticular selected station can have multiple different banks of hotkeysavailable for display. Thus, the availability of Bank selector 210 andStation selector 220 provide a wide range of possible display options.Assume, for example, that there are four possible stations that can beselected using Station selector 220. If each available station has fourdifferent hotkey banks available for selection, there are sixteendifferent possible hotkey banks that could be displayed in Hotkey region200.

Hotkey display region 200 can also include user selectable objects 205,207, 208, and 209. Add icon 205 is illustrated in the form of a “plus”shaped icon, and can be used to display additional hotkeys. In someembodiments, selection of user selectable icon 205 will bring up a menuor another window, (not illustrated), that can be used to set theparameters of particular hotkeys displayed within hotkey display region200. Copy icon 207 is illustrated in the shape of multiple printedpages, and can be used to copy a hotkey bank. Delete icon 208, which inthe illustrated embodiment takes the form of a stylized “X,” can be usedto delete one or more hotkeys 230, 240, 250, 260. Stream Availabilityindicator 209 displays the current number of available streams.

Referring next to FIG. 3, a Hotkey Bank configuration region 300 will bediscussed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.Hotkey Bank configuration region 300 provides a user with the ability toconfigure additional collections of hotkeys for display within a Hotkeysregion 200 (FIG. 2). Hockey Bank configuration region 300 includes a NewBank Name fillable area 310, a Rows fillable area 370 and a Columnsfillable area 320. New Bank Name fillable area 310 is provided for inputof a name or other identifier to be used for the new hotkey bank. Forexample, the hotkey bank displayed in FIG. 2 is named “Jingles.” Rowfillable area 370 and Column fillable area 320 can be used to designatethe number of rows and columns to display on a particular hotkey page.For example, the Jingles hotkey area shown in FIG. 2 is configured todisplay the hotkeys in a matrix of 4 rows and 4 columns.

Referring next to FIG. 4, a Library region 400 is illustrated accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure. Library region 400displays various user selectable objects, and information associatedwith a media library of a selected station, which can be selected usingStation selector 420. In some embodiments, the information includestitle, artist, category, and duration. The information can also includeother information, such as an album title, a media file name, a startdate and time at which a particular media item will be available forplay, a stop date and time at which the media will no longer beavailable to be played, a kill date that specifies when a song will beautomatically deleted from the library, and a version of the song. In atleast some embodiments, the information displayed in Library region 400includes information associated with a media stream currently beingbroadcast.

The particular information displayed within Library region 400 can bevaried by interacting with displayed user selectable objects, whichinclude media tab 430, spots tab 440, or links tab 450. The illustratedexample shows, for each media item, title 432, artist 434, a duration436, and a file location 438. In some embodiments, one or more of thesections of item 432 is selectable, to allow the media item to be sentto a particular Internet address. Media tab 430, spots tab 440, andlinks tab 450 can be selected to sort the displayed information by mediatype. The displayed information can also be sorted by column, andcolumns can be added or deleted from the display as desired.

Other user selectable objects displayed in Library region 400 caninclude Add icon 462, Refresh icon 464, Delete icon 466, and Speakericon 468. Add icon 462 can be used to add new media events to Libraryregion 400. In at least some embodiments, songs and other media can beimported directly to the library associated with Library region 400,without requiring special processing to convert the added media into aspecialized format. Selecting Add Icon 462 can initiate display ofadditional windows or user selectable objects to facilitate enteringinformation about the media to be added. In some embodiments, prior toadding a media item to the library, a check is performed to determinewhether or not the item is already included in the library.

Refresh icon 464 can be used to refresh the information displayed inLibrary region 400; delete icon 466 can be used to remove items fromLibrary region 400; and speaker icon 468 can be used to audition, oraudibly preview, a selected song or other media file.

Referring next to FIG. 5, a Logs region 500 is illustrated according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. Logs region 500 can beused to display information related to a media schedule for a selectedstation on a selected date. Logs region 500 can be used to display alisting of songs and other media items that have been broadcast, arecurrently being broadcast, or are scheduled to be broadcast. Inaddition, various play controls and status indicators can be provided toallow a user to manage and control the playback of various media items.

In various embodiments, Logs region 500 includes a refresh icon 502 toforce a refresh of the information displayed in Logs region 500.Typically, however, the log screen is kept up to date in real time,including up to date display of the schedule made elsewhere in thesystem, even if changes are being made on other machines on the network.In some embodiments, refresh icon 502 is provided in addition to anautomatic periodic or aperiodic refreshing of the displayed information.A delete icon 504 can be provided to remove, or mark to skip, mediaassets from the log, a home icon 506 which can be used to allow a userto move the view and cursor to a currently hidden portion of the screen,and a speaker icon 508 which can be used to send a selected song to anaudio output. Segue icon 510, can also be provided, and can be used toinvoke the Segue Editor. Microphone icon 512 can be used to enter theVoiceTracker module for the purpose of recording announcements prior toair time.

Logs region 500 also includes a date indicator 522 and Station selector520, which can be used to select a station, play stream, or media streamfor which to display information. In the illustrated example, stationD-FM has been selected, and the media titles displayed in Log region 500are each associated with a media stream being broadcast on selectedstation D-FM. The information displayed in Log region 500 can include alist of media items and associated play controls, with the play controlsbeing displayed in close proximity to the respective media items withwhich they are associated.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, information associated withstation D-FM has been selected for display by using Station selector520. The list of media titles shown in FIG. 5 has been sorted in timeorder, so that the earliest time is towards the top of the region. Thefirst media title shown is Meeting Across the River, which aired at 2:56pm. As shown by status indicator 540, Meeting Across the River indicatesthat the song has already been played.

The next song down, Move Over, began playing at 2:59:19, and asindicated by both progress indicator 565 and status indicator 530, iscurrently being played. Segue Type indicators 532 indicate that the songMove Over is configured to segue into the next scheduled song, Born tobe Wild, upon completion. In other embodiments, the type of segue couldbe an octagon to resemble a stop sign, indicating that the event shouldnot transition into the next item but rather stop waiting for useraction. In the case of media type Links into and out of songs, the SegueType can be “Link-Song” 585 or “Auto Post” (not illustrated), which havetheir own default behaviors as it relates to the song that is adjacentto the Link. Link Song will start playing the Link no sooner than anEarly Segue Marker, and be mindful of the Intro Post value of a songthat follows the Link such that the end of the Link will not play pastthe Intro Post. Auto Post will start the Link such that the end of theLink will coincide with the position of the Intro Post of the followingsong, even if that means starting after the “following” song has begun.The user may elect to change the default behavior from one type of SegueType to another for an instance of a media event in the log, which isdone by selecting the icon and choosing a different type in the list.

The lack of a checkmark, “X,” or other indicator in checkbox 534indicates that the song Move Over is not to be skipped. If a userdecides that any of the media items should be skipped, he can simplyclick the checkbox corresponding to that item. A mark can be displayedin the checkbox, and the song will be removed from the media stream.

Note the last entry at time 3:25:03 PM; which is referred to as exacttime marker 587, which can be used to help a user stay on a schedule.Exact time marker 587 can also be used in calculating displays in otherscreens or display areas, as discuss subsequently with respect to FIG.6.

In the illustrated embodiment, the status indicators and play controlsare displayed in close proximity the media item with which they areassociated. In the illustrated example, the indicators and controls arepositioned in line with their associated media item identifiers.However, the play controls and indicators can be displayed in otherpositions relative to their associated media item identifiers, as longas they are positioned close enough to enable a user to identify theassociation between the controls and indicators and their respectivemedia item identifiers.

The remaining song titles are scheduled to be played at the timesindicated in the Airtime column, and in the order indicated. In someembodiments, as each of the song titles displayed begins to play, itsstatus indicator will change to a right-handed triangle similar tostatus indicator 530. After a song has been played, its status changesto a checkmark or other suitable indicator similar to status indicator540. If an item is skipped, or terminated early, the status icon canalso indicate those conditions.

Also displayed in the illustrated example of Logs region 500 are aseries of numbers from 0 to 23, running horizontally across the region500 just above the list of media titles. The list of numbers includes anindicator 518 that shows, in military time, the current hour. In otherembodiments, different time indicators can be used. Pressing any of thenumbers causes the GUI to track to that section of the log, as well aschange the Home icon's state to indicate that the user is no longertracking current position.

Referring next to FIG. 6, an On-Air region 600 is discussed according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. On-Air region 600 can beused in some embodiments to control playback of media in “currentsection” of the Logs region 500. The illustrated example of an On-Airdisplay region 600 includes a region identifier 655, Add to Layout icon603, and a close button 605. Add to Layout Icon 603, as commonly knownthe art, is used to add On-Air regions 600 particular screen location tothe current layout, after On-Air region 600 has been positioned asdesired by a user. Close button 605 is also known in the art, and can beselected to cause On-Air region 600 to stop being displayed. The nondisplay has no bearing on functionality. The system will continue tooperate whether the GUI is running or not.

On-Air region 600 can be configured to display information associatedwith a selected station or play stream by using Station selector 620. Invarious embodiments, On-Air display region 600 can be used to selectamong various different stations or play streams, and the informationdisplayed can change as different stations are selected using Stationselector 620. On-air indicator 610 displays the on-air/off-air status ofstation D-FM.

Next to On-Air indicator 610 a Mode selector 625 is displayed. In someembodiments, Mode selector 625 is used to allows a user to selectbetween various playback modes. In some embodiments, 3 differentplayback modes can be selected: 1) manual; 2) automatic; and 3) LiveAssist. Other embodiments may also include “Split” and “Satellite”modes.

On-Air region 600 can also include channel indicators 642, 644, and 657.In some embodiments, a song is assigned to a channel, which is thenindicated in 657 for example. The information that is displayed as apart of a channel assignment is in the configuration of the associatedplay device in the Player. The channel assignment occurs when it isfirst displayed in On-Air region 600. It should be noted that in theillustrated embodiment, a channel indicator of “1” does not necessarilymean that it is the first song in the queue, because the channelindicators 642, 644, and 657 remain with a particular media item oncethe media until after that media item has been played.

In the illustrated example, The E Street Shuffle is currently beingplayed, as indicated by progress indicator 653. In operation, progressindicator 653 can be displayed as a semi-transparent bar of color thatprogressively highlights a rectangular from left to right until anassociated media title has been completely played, or otherwise ends.Various other progress indicators known to those skilled in the art canalso be used.

Final Shiny Happy People is the next song to be played, and Custard Pieis in line to be played after that. In some embodiments, the songs areplayed in the order in which they are displayed, and the channelindicators operate in a round-robin fashion. Thus, when The E StreetShuffle has finished playing, it will fall off the list, and Final ShinyHappy People and Custard Pie will each move up list. The channelindicator 662 will remain next to Final Shiny Happy People, and channelindicator 664 will remain next to Custard Pie. The next media item to beplayed will fill in the bottom of the list, and will be assigned channelindicator 657. The channel indicators 662, 664, and 657 will continue torotate in round-robin fashion with the completion of one song andaddition of another. In other embodiments, channel indicator number canbe configured to change, so that a channel indicator showing the number“1” will remain next to the first song to be played, a channel indicatorshowing “2” will remain next to the second song, and so on. Furthermore,letters or colors can be used in place of or in addition to numbers.Additional channel indicators can be used consistent with the number ofmedia items displayed in any particular instance of On-Air region 600,or the use of channel indicators can be foregone if desired.

In addition to displaying a list of songs or media items to bebroadcast, play controls associated with each of the items ofinformation can also be displayed in close proximity to mediaidentifiers with which they are associated. For example, pause button642 can be used to pause playback of The E Street Shuffle, and stopbutton 681 can be used to stop or cancel playback of the same mediaitem. Play button 646 can be used to start playing back Custard Pie, andeject button 645 can be used to take Custard Pie out of the playbacksequence. Segue Type 644 is identical to Segue Type referenced in theLogs 500 section, and displays whether Custard Pie is to automaticallysegue into the next scheduled song, or stop as examples. Similarindicators and controls in close proximity to other media identifiershave similar functions, except that those functions are with respect tothe media identifiers with which the play controls and indicators areassociated. In addition to controls for individual media items, amaster-play button 643 can be used in automatic mode to start anautomatic play sequence. In some embodiments, master-play button 643 isused to start playing the next queued event, regardless of whether theprevious event has finished playing.

In various embodiments, some or all of the play controls 643, 644, 645,and 646, as can have different functions based on the selected mode. Forexample, if automatic mode is selected by Mode selector 625, media itemsmay be broadcast without need of user intervention. In some embodiments,some or all of the individual play controls may be disabled in automaticmod, while all or substantially all individual play controls can beenabled. In various embodiments, when operating in a live assist mode,the individual play controls can be used to control whether the nextevent is automatically started, or whether playback of the next eventshould wait for manual intervention.

Various timing and schedule assist indications can also be displayed inOn-Air region 600. For example, the current day and date 695 can bedisplayed, as can the current time 697. In some cases, over/under timer691 and an exact time marker 693 can also be displayed. Over/under timer691 can be used to display a time difference between the exact timemarker 693 and the current time 697. A positive number can be used toindicate that more media content is scheduled than is needed to reachthe exact time marker 693, while a negative number can be used toindicate the converse. In some embodiments, a color or otherattention-drawing indicator can be used to emphasize whether a user isover or under the exact time marker 693.

Referring next to FIG. 7, a Stacks region 700 as illustrated accordingto various embodiments of the present disclosure. The stacks displayregion is used to display a collection of media items to be broadcast.Stacks region 700 includes a display region identifier 755, Add icon705, Copy icon 707, Delete icon 708, Speaker icon 709, and a Streamindicator 710. stacks display region 700 also includes a Stack selector73 for choosing which stack to display, and Station selector 720. Stacksdisplay region 700 displays a list of media identifiers and associatedplay controls play controls, which can include eject button 746 topermit a particular event to be taken out of the playback sequence, playbutton 745 to cause a particular event to be immediately played, andhandling indication 744 to indicate whether an event is to automaticallysegue into the next event, whether the event is to be skipped, whetherthe event has been stopped, or the like.

Referring next to FIG. 8, a Segue Tool is illustrated according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. Segue Tool 800 allows auser to view and manipulate a visual indication related to the timingrelationship between media assets represented as item 820 and 833, andin the embodiment shown, record a Voice Track item into the middle track830. The user also has the ability to add a fade out event at any pointin the timeline of item 820, or a fade in on item 833, by placing cursor822 at a desired location and using the right mouse button and choosingthe Fade in or Fade out Option. Additionally, the user can “add volumepoint” which adds a point at the current location of cursor 822, whichthe user can move up and down to affect the audio level 829 of theselected item. Other methods of adding a fade events and volume pointscan be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

To record a voice track into the timeline, the user can press the recordbutton 837, which in at least one embodiment activates a recordingprocess and initiates a count up of time since the button has beenpressed, as shown in item 831. Note that a media asset displayed in“Track 3” 833 can be identified by metadata 827 pertaining to adisplayed media asset.

A typical workflow for some embodiments would be to press the playbutton 835 which causes “Track 1” item 820 to start playing through anassigned player. Pressing record 837 would cause the recording of thevoice track to occur. Or the user might choose to press the play button835 again, which would cause “Track 3” 833 to play, in which case theuser could start recording the Voice Track, 830 by pressing the recordbutton 837. In either event, pressing the record button 837 whilerecording can cause the recording to cease, leaving any other playingitems to continue to play out. Pressing stop button 839 can cause allrecording and playback to cease. Once the recording has completed, the“Track Lock” icon 809 would change to a Locked graphic, allowing theuser to listen to the entire sequence of events by pressing the playbutton 835.

Pressing the Save button 805 can, in some embodiments, cause changesmade in the Segue Tool to be saved to a database, indicating how thesequence of events should play back.

In some embodiments of the Segue Tool, instead of a Voice Track as shownin FIG. 8, the second track 830 can display a whole media asset, frombeginning to end, shown as it would play back in the On Air Screen inrelationship to its surrounding events. The information displayed in thesecond track 830 is, in some embodiments, based on a display mode inwhich the Segue Tool is operating. The mode of the Segue Tool can bedetermined based on whether a user calls the Segue Tool by selecting aVoice Track from the Logs screen 500, or by choosing the Segue icon fromthe Logs Screen 500. Once the Segue Tool is in operation, a user canchange the mode by selecting Segue button 807, which in some embodimentstoggles to a microphone Icon if a user is already in Segue Tool mode.

The Segue Tool can also be equipped with Previous button 846 and Nextbutton 845. When in Segue Tool mode, the Previous button 846 brings theuser back one step in the log, by moving track 1 to track 2, track 2 totrack 3 and the item in the log that precedes track 1 in the log totrack 1. The Next button 845 moves the item in track 2 to track 1, track3 to track 2 and the item after track 3 in the log to track 3. In bothcases a save event, similar to what happens when pressing save button805, can occur.

The Segue Type control 813 can be used to change the type of segue, in amanner similar to corresponding controls included in the Log screen 500and On air screen 600.

In the Segue Tool the user has access to Zoom controls 815, wheresegments of the segue display can be scrutinized visually using zoom inor changing the magnification control to a higher number. The user canalso zoom out of a segue display to the point that is 100%, representingthe zoom at which the user came into the tool.

Some or all of the methods and processes described herein can beembodied in or performed by one or more processing systems. An exampleof such a processing system is discussed with reference to FIG. 9.Processing system 900 includes one or more processors such as CPU A 905and CPU B 907 connected to each other via communications path 911,random access memory (RAM) 920; read-only memory (ROM) 915, wherein theROM 915 could also be erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) orelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM); andinput/output (I/O) adapter 925, for connecting peripheral devices suchas disk units 930, optical drive 936, or tape drive 937 to system bus910; a user interface adapter 940 for connecting keyboard 945, mouse950, speaker 955, microphone 960, or other user interface devices tosystem bus 910; communications adapter 965 for connecting processingsystem 900 to an information network such as the Internet or any ofvarious local area networks, wide area networks, telephone networks, orthe like; and display adapter 970 for connecting system bus 910 to adisplay device such as monitor 975. Mouse 950 has a series of buttons980, 985 and may be used to control a cursor shown on monitor 975.

It will be understood that processing system 900 may include othersuitable data processing systems without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, processing system 900 may include bulkstorage and cache memories, which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Various disclosed embodiments can be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination containing both hardware and software elements. In oneor more embodiments, the invention is implemented in software, whichincludes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode,etc. Some embodiments may be realized as a computer program product, andmay be implemented as a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumembodying program code for use by, or in connection with, a computer, aprocessor, or other suitable instruction execution system.

For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computerreadable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store,communicate, or transport the program for use by or in connection withan instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise any ofvarious types of computer storage media, including volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anysuitable method or technology for storage of information such ascomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data. Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can be accessed by a computer.

Various embodiments of a Graphical User Interface for use with broadcastautomation software have been described in sufficient detail to allowthose of ordinary skill in the art to practice the teachings set forthherein. Other variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosedmay be made based on the description provided, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for implementing a Graphical UserInterface (GUI) for use with broadcast automation software, comprising:at least one processor; memory coupled to said at least one processor,said memory storing a program of instructions configured to be executedby said at least one processor to implement a GUI, the GUI comprising:at least one display region configurable to display information andplayback controls associated with a plurality of different media streamseach being contemporaneously aired on a respective one of a plurality ofdifferent media stations, the at least one display region configurablefor a user to control multiple media streams corresponding to theplurality of different media stations at the same time, the at least onedisplay region comprising: a first display region to display a firstvisual representation depicting a playback timeline of a first mediaasset included in at least one of the plurality of media streams and asecond visual representation depicting a playback timeline of a secondmedia asset included in at least one of the plurality of media streams,wherein the first display region is configured to enable a user to viewand manipulate a visual indication representing a timing relationshipbetween the playback timelines of the first and second media assets; andconcurrently displayed second and third display regions, theconcurrently displayed second and third display regions each includingfunctionally duplicate display regions, one for each of the plurality ofdifferent media stations, each of the functionally duplicate displayregions displaying duplicate categories of information from theplurality of different media streams each being contemporaneously airedand including duplicate user selectable controls; and wherein the seconddisplay region is configured to display the information and playbackcontrols associated with a media stream being aired on a first mediastation of the plurality of different media stations, and the thirddisplay region is configured to display the information and playbackcontrols associated with a media stream being aired on a second mediastation of the plurality of different media stations.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein: at least one of the second and third display regionsis configured to display: a first media identifier associated with thefirst media asset; a user selectable object operable to select among anautomatic mode, a manual mode, and a live assist mode of operation; andat least one user selectable play control, positioned proximate to thefirst media identifier, and operable in the live assist mode to controlwhether individual media assets are to be started automatically.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein: the first media asset is a first audioprogram; the first display region is configurable to display a visualrepresentation of the first audio program; and the first display regionincludes a user selectable control operable to receive user inputestablishing at least one fade point of the first audio program.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1 further comprising at least one user selectable objectoperable to assign each of the plurality of media streams to separateaudio outputs in response to selection by a user.
 5. The system of claim1, wherein: at least one of the second and third display regions isconfigured to display content stored in an audio library, and at leastone user selectable object operable to import audio files of differentformats directly into the audio library.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein: at least one of the second and third display regions isconfigured to display at least one user selectable object operable toexport information associated with at least one of the plurality ofmedia streams to a designated network address.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein: at least one of the second and third display regions comprisesa hotkey display region including a plurality of user selectable objectscapable of being independently configured to execute differentuser-assigned actions related to playback of a broadcast media stream.8. The system of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the second and thirddisplay regions includes a user selectable object operable to fire anevent not programmed into a station log.
 9. The system of claim 1, atleast one of the second and third display regions further comprising aplurality of user selectable objects, the plurality of user selectableobjects operable to display a plurality of different regions in responseto being selected by a user, the plurality of different regionsincluding: a log display region displaying a collection of contentidentifiers associated with a selected station of the plurality ofdifferent media stations, and a plurality of air-time indicators, eachair time indicator associated with one of the content identifiers; aplay region comprising a plurality of media players, each of the mediaplayers displaying metadata pertaining to a media item to be broadcast,and a plurality of play controls associated with the metadata; and astack display region operable to display at least one media eventidentifier associated with a selected channel.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of instructionsexecutable to implement a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for use withbroadcast automation software, the program of instructions comprising:at least one instruction to display a plurality of display regions,configurable to display information and playback controls associatedwith a plurality of different media streams each being contemporaneouslyaired on a respective one of a plurality of different media stations, atleast one of the plurality of display regions configurable for a user tocontrol multiple media streams corresponding to the plurality ofdifferent media stations at the same time; at least one instruction todisplay, in a first display region, a first visual representationdepicting a playback timeline of a first media-asset included in atleast one of the plurality of media streams; at least one instruction todisplay, in a first display region, a second visual representationdepicting a playback timeline of a second media asset included in atleast one of the plurality of media streams; at least one instruction toenable a user to view and manipulate, in the first display region, avisual indication representing a timing relationship between theplayback timelines of the first and second media assets; and at leastone instruction to concurrently display second and third display regionsincluding at least one instruction to display at least two functionallyduplicate display regions, one for each of the plurality of differentmedia stations; at least one instruction to display duplicate categoriesof information from the plurality of different media streams each beingcontemporaneously aired and duplicate user selectable controls in eachof the functionally duplicate display regions; and at least oneinstruction to display information from different media stations of theplurality of different media stations in each of the functionallyduplicate display regions; and wherein the second display region isconfigured to display the information and playback controls associatedwith a media stream being aired on a first media station of theplurality of different media stations, and the third display region isconfigured to display the information and playback controls associatedwith a media stream being aired on a second media station of theplurality of different media stations.
 11. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 10 further comprising: at least one instructionto display, in at least one of second and third display regions: a firstmedia identifier associated with the first media asset and a first userselectable control to affect playback of the first media asset; a userselectable object operable to select among an automatic mode, a manualmode, and a live assist mode of operation; and a user selectable playcontrol, positioned proximate to the first media identifier, andoperable in the live assist mode to control whether individual mediaitems are to be started automatically.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 10 further comprising: at least one instructionto display, in at least one of the second and third display-regions;content stored in an audio library; and at least one user selectableobject operable to import audio files of different formats directly intoa media library.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 10 further comprising: at least one instruction to display a userselectable object operable to export information associated with atleast one of the plurality of media streams to a designated networkaddress.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10further comprising: at least one instruction to display a hotkey displayregion including a plurality of user selectable objects capable of beingindependently configured to execute different user-assigned actionsrelated to playback of a broadcast media stream.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 10 further comprising: at least oneinstruction to display a user selectable object operable to fire anevent not programmed into a station log.
 16. A method of implementing aGraphical User Interface (GUI) for use with broadcast automationsoftware, the method comprising: displaying, on a screen of aninformation handling system executing broadcast automation software, aplurality of display regions configurable to display information andplayback controls associated with a plurality of different media streamsbeing contemporaneously aired on respective ones of a plurality ofdifferent media stations, at least one of the plurality of displayregions configurable for a user to control multiple media streamscorresponding to the plurality of different media stations at the sametime; displaying, in a first display region, a first visualrepresentation depicting a playback timeline of a first media assetincluded in a first one of the plurality of media streams; displaying,in the first display region, a second visual representation depicting aplayback timeline of a second media asset included in at least one ofthe plurality of media streams; enabling a user to view and manipulate,in the first display region, a visual indication representing a timingrelationship between the playback timelines of the first and secondmedia assets; and concurrently displaying at least second and thirddisplay regions, the displaying at least second and third displayregions including displaying at least two functionally duplicate displayregions, one for each of the plurality of different media stationsincluding: displaying duplicate categories of information from theplurality of different media streams each being contemporaneously airedand duplicate user selectable controls in each of the functionallyduplicate display regions; and displaying information from differentmedia stations of the plurality of different media stations of theplurality of different media stations in each of the functionallyduplicate display regions; and wherein the second display region isconfigured to display the information and playback controls associatedwith a media stream being aired on a first media station of theplurality of different media stations, and the third display region isconfigured to display the information and playback controls associatedwith a media stream being aired on a second media station of theplurality of different media stations.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the concurrently displaying the at least second and thirddisplay regions further includes: displaying a library display regionincluding at least one user selectable object operable to import audiofiles of different formats directly into a media library; displaying auser selectable object operable to export information associated with atleast one of the plurality of different media streams to a designatednetwork address; displaying a hotkey display region including aplurality of user selectable objects capable of being independentlyconfigured to execute different user-assigned actions related toplayback of a broadcast media stream; displaying a log display regiondisplaying a collection of content identifiers associated with aselected station, and a plurality of air-time indicators, each air timeindicator associated with one of the content identifiers; displaying aplay region comprising a plurality of media players, each of the mediaplayers displaying metadata pertaining to a media item, and a pluralityof play controls associated with the metadata; and displaying a stackdisplay region operable to display at least one media event identifierassociated with a selected channel.